A letter sent to patients of an Oromocto-based doctor announcing they’re closing their practice in October has some worried about what comes next.
The physician served the community for 25 years, and states in the letter that it’s time to focus on their health and family, along with other interests.
“Unfortunately, there is not another physician to take over my practice and my greatest source of stress is that I am aware that this will leave many of you without a primary care physician,” the letter reads.
“We've heard so many stories from so many others that have faced this problem and the list the government has provided for us to sign up to seems to be a never ending list. So, what do we do?” asked patient Nancy Walker.
It’s a question more than 63,000 New Brunswickers are asking – that’s how many people are on the waitlist to get a primary-care provider as of last month.
Nancy Walker, her sister Kayla Walker, and their families have gone to the doctor for over 20 years.
“We're going to miss her and we wish her all the best. However, where does it leave us? And we really feel like the government kind of owes us some direction. The list doesn't do that,” she said.
Kayla Walker, a middle-school principal in Oromocto, is also worried about what the loss means for the wider community.
“With the increased challenges on our health-care system, losing doctors, and we already know the mental health of our youth is in crisis as well: Where are we going to be in five years? Or less? I'm worried,” she said.
According to its annual report, Horizon Health recruited 92 doctors in the 2021-22 fiscal year. That’s 15 more than the year before.
It also saw an increase of 53 more medical residents.
In total, Horizon has 1,216 active physicians.
During a board meeting April 22, Dr. Susan Brien, Horizon's vice president of medical, academic and research affairs, said they were having trouble recruiting and retaining doctors in the Fredericton area.
“I’m trying hard to understand that, I’m actually from Fredericton, and so with a small team we’ve been doing a deep dive, I’ve been doing exit interviews and talking to coordinators to really understand what are some of those challenges we need to fix,” she said at the time.
Liberal health critic Jean-Claude D’Amours says a recruitment and retention plan is what’s missing from the province's health plan – which was released last fall.
He says New Brunswick needs a human resources plan for all professions within the health-care sector.
“Every time we lose one doctor, we will need two or two-and-a-half to replace or to take care of the patient list of the doctor who decided to leave,” he said.
He says more incentives are needed to compete with other provinces in recruiting.
Nancy Walker says she has seen some improvements, especially in how pharmacists are able to assist more in health-care services.
“And I think that it’s a series of those kind of things that the government has to focus on to kind of broaden that range, to fill the gap,” she said.
